congress are meeting as a problem-solvers coalition and they are dedicated to -- they are going to wear an orange pin at the state of the union indicating it's not a long-term commitment but a one-night -- not a one-night stand. >> put meacham up. >> oh, my lord, reuben kincaid. >> and i'm in a quandary. >> i learned it was ronald reagan and tom brokaw's birthday. >> and mika, broadway baker, my friend adrienne brought in these incredible cupcakes. the proceeds go to sandy relief but i'm into healthy food. >> got to help the kids. >> i've already had up. if it's way too early, it's "morning joe" and we have chuck todd coming up right now with "the daily rundown." >> spring quester, the newest fiscal fight sparks finger-pointing right out of the gate. president obama says it's up to congress to avoid tough budget

cuts, but republicans say, hey. it's the president's fault in the first place. guess what? they all support it. the dumbest blame game in washington. speaking of washington, the town barely reacts to the nbc news exclusive on that justice department memo authorizing the killing of americans believed to be top al qaeda operatives, but there's one democratic senator who is not holding back. and how do we make 2016 better than 2012? find out what the top advisers from the last campaign told me is needed to fix the next campaign before it even gets started. good morning from chicago. it's wednesday, february 6th, 2013. "the daily rundown." i'm chuck todd. a lot of news to get to and by the way the u.s. post office will hold a 10:00 a.m. press conference that they are cutting saturday mail and they will take six months and a question we all have why does it take six months? good-bye fiscal cliff and debt ceiling, hello to the efforts of

delay or suspend the "s" word, the sequester, that automatic defense and spending cut mechanism that's set to take effect on march 1st. on tuesday president obama went public for the first time in a while with his opening offer on the budget battles ahead, and today he goes behind closed doors with senate democrats in their retreat in annapolis to strategize and preview his state of the union addressch the white house wanted to send two messages with the president's visit to briefing room yesterday. one, that the burden of shutting off the sequester is on congress. >> if congress can't act immediately on a bigger package, they should at least pass a smaller package of spending cuts and tax reforms that would delay the economically damaging effects of the sequester for a few more months. >> secondly, the white house wanted to signal how they would like to see the rest of these budget negotiations go in 2013, not with one-on-one deal-making

but passed through the regular order in congress. the president said he expects that it's going to take time, and while white house wants immigration and gun violence proposals passed by say the fourth of july, they recognize that a budget deal probably won't happen until october. now, as for sequester, cue the blame game. sequester is the most unpopular thing in washington that everybody once supported and now nobody claims to own. while the president tried to blame congress republican leaders pointed their fingers right back at the president. >> the house on two occasions has passed a plan to replace the sequester. it's time for the senate democrats to do their work. it's time for the president to offer his ideas about how to replace the sequester. the house on two occasions has passed a plan to replace the sequester. it's time for the senate democrats to do their work. it's time for the president to offer his ideas about how to

replace the sequester. >> are you going to offer that bill again and vote on it? >> boehner declined to answer that question, and yesterday the president signalled any alternative to the sequester has to include some taxes. >> if we are going to close these loopholes, then there's no reason we should use the savings that we obtain and turn around and spend that on new tax breaks for the wealthiest. >> the white house didn't put out a ratio of taxes to spending cuts it expects in a deal, but the idea of any new revenue was immediately shot down by republicans. boehner said in a statement, quote, president obama first proposed the sequester and insist it had become law. we believe there is a better way to reduce the deficit, but americans do not support sacrificing any real spending cuts for more tax hikes. the white house believes house republicans, who have warmed up to the idea of letting the sequester take effect, may get a wake-up call as they continue to see those -- the economy contract, that the fourth quarter numbers will be a wake-up call.

the president pointed out yesterday that those cuts in defense spending caused the economy to shrink at the end of 2012. >> we've been reminded that while it's critical for us to cut wasteful spending we can't just cut our way to prosperity. deep, indiscriminate cuts to things like education and training, energy and national security will cost us jobs. >> new numbers from the congressional budget office may provide some ammunition. the cbo projects the economy will grow at a measly rate of 1.4% this year and 3.4% next year. the cbo forecast is correct, 2014 will be the sixth consecutive year with unemployment above 7.5%, but expect to hear from republicans about another big number in that report, and although the federal deficit will drop below $1 trillion in 2013, the first time since 2008 for that, the federal debt will stay at historically high levels relative to the economy through 2023 when it

will equal 77% of the gross domestic product. moving on to the drone story. president obama's time in office, u.s. military and cia drone strikes have accelerated an an unprecedented pace to eight times the level under president george w. bush. after nbc news exclusively obtained a 16-page justice department white paper that concluded that strikes that target and kill u.s. citizens who are operational leaders of al qaeda and are in fact a lawful act of national self-defense, civil libertarian groups, including the aclu, which is challenging the drone policy and suing the u.s. government over anwar al alaki's death went on the record to condemn that white paper. >> it is a chilling document. it sets out the government's claimed authority to carry out the targeted killing of american citizens, but the limits are really vague and elastic and very easy to see how they can be

manipulated. >> at the justice department attorney general eric holder defended the policy. >> our primary concern is to keep the american people safe, but to do so in a way that's consistent with our laws and consistent with our values. we only take these kinds of actions when there's an imminent threat, when capture is not feasible and when we are confident that we're doing so in a way that's consistent with federal and international law. >> that message was echoed by white house press secretary jay carn carney. >> the strikes are legal. they are ethical and they are wise. >> and though the unclassified white paper that was prepared to brief congress is now public, even members of congress on the oversight committee have not seen the original memo. holder was quizzed about that issue yesterday. >> why not release the memos. you're a driving force behind releasing the bush administration's torture membero. why aren't you a force for this? >> well, i mean, we'll have to

look at this and see how -- what it is we want to do with these memos, but you have to understand that we are talking about things that are -- that go into really kind of how we conduct our offensive operations. >> and at the white house, carney offered another somewhat core toured response. >> without going into the alleged existence of any particular memo or action, i can say that, you know, what we cannot do is discuss classified operations. >> but you will release t white paper you've pointed us to several times? >> i think it's out there. it's online. >> expect these questions to be raised at cia nominee john brenn brennan's confirmation hearing. there are two ways, while senators like oregon's ron widen are likely to make brennan's hearing particularly uncomfortable, widen fired off a statement yesterday saying this. every american has the right to know when their government

believes that it is allowed to kill them. and saying basic questions need to be answered, questions like how much evidence does the president need to decide this a particular american is part of a terrorist group? does the president have to provide an individual americans with the opportunity to surrender? and can the president order intelligence agencies or the military to kill an american who is inside the united states? many other senators have been much more sanguine, rather than calling for the original justice department memo to be released senate intelligence chair dianne feinstein suggested full transparency has already been achieved, quote. i have been calling for the public release of the administration's legal analysis of the use of lethal force, particularly against u.s. citizens, for more than a year. that analysis is now public, and the american people can review and judge the legality of these operations. the bottom line is that the white house doesn't steam have much of a political problem with the public. the public is intent to go after the bad guys, if you will, regardless of the concerns of a slippery slope, and unless the

public begins to share in the outrage, congress may not show it, but it's amazing that one of the three branches of government doesn't want to know why it does not have oversight over this executive branch policy. finally, the reason we're here in chicago today. last night i sat down with the brain trust of the obama and the romney campaigns. eight of the top advisers, all in one room at the university of chicago's institute of politics. we'll take a deep dive into the politics later for now but for now three quick impressions from the night. both sides one comfortable with the role money played in the process. >> money is obviously a big concern, and the proliferation of money undisclosed i think is a very unhealth thing. >> it's a tragedy of, you know, candidate barack obama walking out of the federal funding system, and i hope in some way that we can change the system and try to get the genie back in the bottle. >> citizens united needs to be overturned, legislatively or by

the states. we were able to have a grass roots internet fund-raising that no one had ever seen before and we could combat it like that and that's the grass roots way to do it, but long-term barack obama is a once in a generation politician and, you know, every person running in 2016 for president, my advice for them is go get a super pac. >> you would tell them to get a super pac. >> yeah, figure that out. >> secondly, both sides believe the length of the republican primary was perhaps the most important tactical asset to obama and the biggest negative drag to romney. >> primary calendar. you want to see it lengthened, shortened. >> it should be shorter. nothing to be gained by being longer that i can see. >> no one would argue that it has to be longer. we went through a two-year primary campaign. that was a long, long campaign. not sure barack obama would have been elected president without it, but it was a long, hard, expensive thing. >> i think the conventions are way too late. i would move the conventions earlier. >> for us it would have been a selfish reason for an early

convention because the general could have started sooner which would have allowed to us tap our general election funds which were off limits to us. >> and nothing exemplifies that frustration for the romney campaign more than the number one reform they would like to see, fewer primary debates. >> the primary debate process just got out of control. the problem with the primary debates is that they became vehicles for promotion of networks and cables when they should be news events. >> it's up to the candidates and perhaps the party to discipline that process and say, no, we're not going to have. no doubt in my mind. i don't think we were damaged by 25 or 28 debates in 2008. there's no doubt that mitt romney was damaged by the proliferation, 2 it debates he had to go through. >> what would you do to the calendar? >> look, i would have less primary debates. >> like streams of cars trying to go through a tunnel. it creates a lot of headaches for candidates. >> what's the right amount of debates? >> i don't know what the right amount is, but 20 strikes me --

>> 20 was too much. >> as too many. >> well, there you had it. eight people overall. 90 minutes, one stapling. it was, well, just like the republican primary debates, so we've got much more from axelrod, fehrnstrom and all the other top campaign strategists coming up at the bottom of the hour. up next, we'll introduce you to the florida democrat who ousted senate marco rubio's friend from the house and now at the center of debate over immigration. and part of our meet the new member series. it continues with congressman joe garcia and today's politics planner. busy day. got the postal service announcement. the president meets with senate democrats in annapolis. we'll have a boehner presser and biden meets with house democrats. he's back from london. we'll be right back. ♪

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we're going to move forward because the country supports it, because latinos demand it and because democrats want it and because republicans need it. >> florida democratic congressman joe garcia just doesn't talk about the immigration debate. he's lived it and now has a chance to be an influential voice on how congress must move forward on immigration reform. as the son of cuban exile he's spent his entire life in florida, his dad washed cars and mom waited tables before starting their own business that put their son through school. at 25-year-old he was tapped to lead the cuban-americans national foundation exodus problem helping resettle cuban exile in the states and in the '90s served as the first hispanic chairman of the public service commission. garcia later returned to the

cuban-american foundation as executive director and in 2006 gave politics his first attention. he lost for the first time in-to-mario diaz-balart and after taking a position in the energy position he ran in garcia and that ended in defeat to david rivera but he got a second chance against rivera in fall and survived what was really a nasty campaign and ended up winning big by ten points, joining me now, the new congressman from that area, congressman joe garcia. he's a new member of the judiciary committee's subcommittee on immigration. congressman garcia, it's a -- it's a long string, big shoes when i grew up. we had dante fisell in that seat for years and careers. >> my high school history teacher, which i got to honor on the floor of the house this week, also our close-up guide,

made me work for dante fisell and i stuffed envelopes for him. he's a great man and represented most of the district i represent today so obviously very big shoes to try to fill. >> he is. let me start with immigration here. you're obviously -- yesterday there was a biglous hearing on this. what is the house bill going to look like and do you get the sense that house republicans are waiting for the senate to act or they want to have their own bill and move it simultaneously with what the senate is trying to do. >> look, they have come a long way, and for guys who don't believe in evolution, this is really good. they have evolved, but i think this is important. got to find a pathway forward but that's the sticking point. they are stuck on this. this whole idea of a longer period or a second class citizenship is just against the very concepts of our nation. i mean, if you read the declaration of independence, one of areas where there's a sort of

railing, the statements against the king, one was about indentured servitude, that vial state that kept you working and didn't give you a way forward in the society. the civil war again about second class citizens. the civil rights struggle was about people who were less than fully americans because they weren't able to enjoy those great civil rights, so i think it's a mistake for republicans to go that way, but i do want to commend colleagues of mine from south florida like illeana ross and mario diaz-balart who are working with some republican brethren. don't need them all, but we need a gnu few to understand that this is something that america does better than any other country in the world and that is take people and make them americans. >> there was some talk yesterday, you've heard some house republicans float the idea of -- of not having a path to citizenship for everybody of the 11 million undocumented workers, but have a path to legal

residency but not give them a path to citizenship, sort of this i guess putting an added hurdle as a compromise. what did you make of that proposal? >> type "b" and type "a." the ones that get taxed that don't get representation, the ones that have all the responsibilities but non-of the great benefits of being a citizen. look, this is precisely where we make a mistake. if you look at failed immigration systems, you look at the german system, you look at the french system, where people are -- don't become french. they don't become german. they are turks who live in germany or muslims that live in paris, the reality is we need full americans. these folks work hard and take care of our children. they pick our fields. they work in the most difficult jobs, and what we need to do is make them pay their back taxes and make them learn english and get them in the back of the line and at the end they get the great benefit, bounty and responsibility of being a u.s.

citizen. >> very quickly and i want to move on to another issue before i let you go. is our time line before the fourth of july, or is this going to bleed into the fall? >> well, that's up to republicans. clearly democrats are working. senate folks like chuck schumer have done a magnificent job. again, marco rubio, i commend him, he's also on my state. he's moved greatly. i want to congratulate him. i think the senate is pretty close to having something very comprehensive. i don't see that willingness in my colleagues on the house side. hopefully we'll get something out. my hope is by the middle of the summer we'll have something for the president to sign. >> do you think that by the end of obama's second term there will be open travel, open borders between the united states and cuba? >> i don't know. i -- i don't think so. i think there's a lot of things that we need to fix, but what i do think is the president's policy on cuba makes sense. more people-to-people contact. it's a smart thing.

it's helping develop the civil society that somehow the communist government is now in favor. well, look, when you're enemy is heading in the right direction you tend to help them along those lines. more civil society programs, mow free enterprise and more contacts with their fellow brethren in miami, that's good for the long term and an investment in america's long-term relationship with the cuban people, not the cuban government. >> joe garcia, democratic congressman, new democratic congressman from florida's 26th district, southern part of dade county, all of the keys. i know if i were you, i would only open my offices in the keys, key largo, key west. >> opened the first key west office. we're enjoying it. >> thanks for coming often welcome back to washington? thank you. up next, president obama will head to israel for the first foreign trip of his second term. in his visit he'll revive stalled peace talks, and how will the emergence of a political newcombner israel

change the already tense relationship between the president and president netanyahu but first today's trivia question. who is the longest serving chairman of the house judiciary committee? tweet me the answer and the first correct will get a follow wednesday from us. i'm only in my 60's... i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. call and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, it could save you thousands in out-of-pocket costs.

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your financial advisor should focus on your long-term goals, not their short-term agenda. [ male announcer ] join the nearly 7 million investors who think like you do. face time and think time make a difference. at edward jones, it's how we make sense of investing. president obama will visit israel next month. it's his first trip to the country since becoming president. he will be the fifth sitting u.s. president to visit israel and the first to make it the first foreign trip of a second term. giving president obama a chance to mend what is a sometimes tense relationship with prime minister benjamin netanyahu. joining me now is the israeli ambassador to the united states, michael or in. ambassador, good morning, thanks for coming in. >> good morning, chuck. impressed with all the statistics. very good. >> let me start with this, and we know the way that both press corps can be when it comes to

u.s.-israeli relations, but there's an expectation that the president wouldn't have accepted the invitation if prime minister netanyahu wasn't ready to make a gesture on the peace process when the president visited. is that something we should be looking for? >> listen, we're delighted that he's coming. president obama was always welcomed in israel. he'll be received enthusiastically by the government of israel, by the prime minister of israel, by the people of israel. the white house has made very clear that the purpose of the trip is to strengthen an already historic bond between israel and the united states. i think it will send a powerful message to the middle east at a time great uncertainty and upheaval throughout the region, and i think that is the purpose of the trip. >> but what about on the peace process? when you want to read between the lines here and you've got to be careful with what you want to say, you've got the president that's going to be visiting the west bank and visiting israel and then going to jordan. let me ask you this.

is juror down's king hussein the new mubarak here when it comes to the peace process, that he might be the -- the sort of mediator in the region? >> king abdullah. >> king abdullah. >> his dad was king hussein. jordan has played a crucial role in the peace process and we welcome that role. historic relations between jordan, historic peace treaty between israel and jordan. we look forward to working with the king in the future as an important partner in the peace process. at the end of the day though it -- the peace has to be made between israelis and palestinians. that's the way we made peace with egypt back in the '70s, the way we made peace with jordan in the '90s, the way the oslo peace process with the palestinians began in 1939 by israelis sitting down with arab leaders. we've been waiting for the palestinians to sit with us for the last four years. they haven't done so. we're willing to meet with them today in jerusalem and ramallah here in washington, d.c., we

don't care, to discuss all the outstanding issues between us, whether it's border securities, jerusalem, to reach a peace based on two states, a jewish state of israel leaving side by side in peace and security with the palestinian state. >> what message did you believe the israeli folks were sending to your government, the netanyahu government, with the surprising rise of a new party, lapin's party? >> i think it's reflecting changes in israel. israelis -- israel is a very young country. we have the fastest growing country in the industrialized modernized world. many israelis under the age of 30, that generation has experienced two transformtive events. there's been terror, suicide bombers, peace plans that have been rejected by the palestinians on one side and then israel's emergence as a high-tech powerhouse which has caused income gaps and questions of whether the middle class can make it. i mean, these are issues that

americans face as well, and so that -- that centrist party is reflecting some of these changes that have occurred in israel, these transformative events over the last ten years for people who are under 30, who are on one hand struggling with security questions but also struggling with the questions of whether they can afford housing. >> when -- when syria falls, the assumption is when assad falls at some point if this is unsustainable, and the assumption i know by a lot of experts in that region, that it's unsustainable there in syria, what role does the -- do you want to see the united states play in a post-assad syria? what is the role that israel believes the united states needs to play? >> well, keep in mind that nobody knows what's going to happen. >> understand. >> we don't know that syria is going to break apart. what we do know is that syria has an immense amount of weaponry, including the largest chemical weaponry arsenal in the world and we're communicating with the united states very

closely about the control of that chemical weapons arsenal or the lack of control over that arsenal, and i think it's really very important for the future for the united states to cooperate closely with the allies in the region, israel one certainly, jordan, to meet any possible threat from syria. having all said that, our hope remains that a peaceful and democratic syria will emerge from this crisis. >> ambassador michael oren, israeli ambassador to the united states. thanks for coming in this morning. a bunch of us are looking forward to the trip to israel in late march. >> indeed. >> thanks very much. developing now, the president has just added an official event to his schedule. at 2:00 p.m. this afternoon we can tell you this. the president will nominate sally jewel. she eats chief executive of the outdoor equipment and clothing store rei, and she's going to be nominated to replace ken salazar as the next secretary of the interior. up next, to tell the truth, complete with celebrity

panelist. my conversation with the top strategists from the obama and romney campaigns. what they say really changed the game during the 2012 campaign. the one big thing that's likely to be different in 2016 and the worst moments on the trail. our deep dive is next. watching "the daily rundown" only on msnbc. well now i'm her dietitian and last year, she wasn't eating so well. so i recommended boost complete nutritional drink to help her get the nutrition she was missing. and now she drinks it every day. well, it tastes great! [ male announcer ] boost has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to support strong bones, and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. and our great taste is guaranteed or your money back. learn more at boost.com [ dietitian ] now, nothing keeps mom from doing what she loves... being my mom.

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[ male announcer ] it's red lobster's 30 shrimp! for $11.99 pair any two shrimp selections on one plate! like mango jalapeño shrimp and parmesan crunch shrimp. just $11.99. offer ends soon! i'm ryon stewart, and i sea food differently. today a deep dive into the brain trust behind the obama and romney presidential campaigns. what drove their decisions and what kept them up at night. on tuesday i got to sit down with eight of the campaign's top men and women at the university of chicago's institute of politics. one of the hottest topics, the influence of big money and super pacs. the president, of course, initially opposed to super pac funding but his team realized early on he would have to change his position. >> one day i did a round of calls to people i trusted and wrote on my white board how much i thought they were going to spend, and i called david in, and the number was $660 million

from the super pacs and david look at that and said we need to have a meeting, and we -- and we flipped soon after. >> for the romney campaign, super pac support was great once it focused on him, but while he was still fighting his way through the primary season it gave his opponents an advantage they wouldn't have had in the past. >> campaigns never end because people want campaigns to end. they end because they run out of money, and super pacs took that quality away from a lot of these campaigns. it served to keep candidates alive that didn't have the fund-raising ability otherwise which is why campaigns end. >> at the time, republicans tried to justify the long primary as a way of testing the candidate under fire, but his team says it didn't feel that way. i asked what was the low point, the os moment, if you will, of the campaign and here's what the romney folks said. >> colorado, minnesota and

missouri because it was just oh -- it was totally o.s. because we had like -- just like another month of this. >> losing michigan would not have been a positive experience. we went in and it was a very expensive state and a state with a lot of symbolic ghosts, and -- and it was really hand-to-hand. >> as the long slog, which is what we called the primary process got further and further along, there were some big states that cost a lot of money to put up on tv so there were certain moments in our campaign where we took our -- our bank down close to zero. >> stuart stevens said late forget primary season had been shorter he believed it could have changed the race. for the obama campaign was the biggest fear was that the republican primary would be too short. >> our biggest o.s. moment in

the primary is we were worried they would end it after new hampshire and we wanted a long primary so once we figured out they were going to go long and we figured out what to do and when to do it. >> that oh. s. was our oh, good moment. >> instead of having unofficially wrapping up the nomination the romney team had a tough time of the bridge between the primary and convention because of the limits on the ads, limits the president didn't have. >> we were raising money but not all money that we could immediately send out the door. >> our donors would call and say why aren't you up on tv, let me explain what money we can use, very frustrating. >> define mitt romney before the conventions and that, you know, it was better to -- it was la y larry's proposition to take money out of september and october and put it into may, june and july, and so the other big thing that happened in june

is we started running ads about mitt romney. >> stevens also told me he hopes big money plays less of a role in future elections. >> these billion dollar campaigns, which will be $2 billion campaigns, are an abomination and we saw it now when you had people campaigning -- heavy fund-raising schedules into september instead of meeting with voters is not how the system should work. >> the likelihood is that won't happen and hopes that primary seasons will get shorter aren't expected to bear fruit either. one place though where you may see some changes in 2016, the party's national conventions. both teams laid out the pros and cons of when these big events are held. >> i think the whole convention system needs to be looked at. i know the chairs of both committees are doing that, and i think that's very good. >> shrink the awkward period between the primary period and convention. kicking it off in the beginning of the summer and getting voters refocused so that the general election is two months.

the general election is four months. >> for them to be successful for our parties we have to build it bigger than those rooms and days for other people to feel engaged. >> no better platform for introducing a candidate and the principles of a party. >> a lot of people right now that are kind of dumping on conventions and will they ever even exist one day? i think they are an important part of the process. >> it's a moment where people pay attention and focus and there's a chance to get across in a very significant way who you are. >> this whole thing is going to air on c-span, just so you know, for you real political junkies, and another long conversation we had was on the importance of the month of june. wait until you hear what team obama feared had the supreme court ruled the other way on health care. hump day gaggle will be here next. we're talking about the upcoming fights on the hill, immigration, drones and oh, yeah, the budget. but first white house soup of the day. how about this, coconut shrimp.

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headache, diarrhea, vomiting, and increase in psa. see your doctor, and for a 30-day free trial, go to axiron.com. immigration was the hot topic on capitol hill tuesday with house republicans addressing the need for reform. from the leader on down to the rank and file. >> this is about trying to get it right. on behalf of the american people and those who are suffering under an immigration system that doesn't work very well for anybody. >> it's no secret that there are more than 11 million people here illegally. many of whom have become part of the fabric of our country. >> we all agree that our immigration system is broken. >> let's bring in the wednesday gaggle. executive director for the latino partnership for conservative principles and former chief of the office of

citizen for george w. bush, alfon alfonso. let me start with you in this compromised proposal that you heard house republicans push yesterday and i want to get your reaction to it, the 11 million undocumented, that some of them would never get a path to citizenship but a path to legal residency. >> let me first say that this is incredible progress that republicans are willing to accept a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants and i would hope the democrats and white house don't play politics with the issue. they would have to explain to latino voters that they didn't allow or support a bill that would provide and bring undocumented people out of the shadows just because they wanted a path to citizenship. would i like to see an eventual path to citizenship but if the only thing we can get is a path to legal status, that is great.

let me add, there's been great progress in the house and senate, bipartisan progress, democrats and republicans are talking to each other. the only person absent of this discussions, and perhaps this is why we've had progress is the president of the united states. >> let me stop you there. you hear criticism, and i want to get this when he's involved. republicans say, don't get involved and when he lays back, you're criticizing him for laying back. >> no, no, no, no, no, no. in every single issue i've heard leader mcconnell and speaker boehner say we haven't heard from the president. the president since the election hasn't called one republican. you would think -- thought that he would have called marco rubio to discuss immigration. the white house hasn't called one republican. how can you get things done and govern if you're not willing to reach out across the aisle? >> margie, is there any way that the white house could sign a bill that didn't provide a path to citizenship for all potential 11 million undocumenteds?

would they pay a price with part of the hispanic coalition that could the them re-elected? >> it's not just hispanics who support a path to citizenship. gallup showed three-quarters of american support a path to citizenship so you can't get numbers like that without support from voters across, from republicans, from non-latinos. two-thirds in the exit polls. polls consistently show majority support for a path to citizenship so republicans need to get in line with where the american people are on this issue. >> jackie, i want to move to budget here a little bit and what the president was throwing out there. did he make the case for sequester in a way that's going to make congress respond, or does sequester still look inevitable to you? >> i think it depends on what part of congress you're talking about. there are some, you know, that might favor going -- going over. not going over the cliff, got so used to saying that at this

point. there are some that might not want to do anything on this, others that are floating certain pope proposals, but we'll see what kind of cuts they are offering. republicans will want something for this and if the white house can't accept, that we might see ourselves at another stand still and i have my critical ball here. i kind of think we might be there again. >> it's funny. looking at political opinion. alfonso, there are a lot of conservatives who say, you know what, take a cut, take a spending cut. this is a built-in spending cut. you don't have to -- if you don't do anything, a cut goes in. that's appealing to a lot of conservatives, is it not? >> well, sadly saturdaying to sound appealing because we go back to the president not talking to republicans. since new year's he hasn't talked to the republican leadership on meaningful cuts. yesterday he gave a speech and talks again about increasing revenue. where are the meaningful cuts, and i think the impression the american people are getting is that this president is really not serious about cutting

spending and about cutting the debt, so to many republicans, yeah, it's sounding to be attractive sadly that we may have to go that route. >> margie, i've seen a lot of public opinion that says, you know, you hear from secretary p these sequester cuts to go through, particularly on defense. the defense cuts are perhaps the most popular part of the cuts. >> defense cuts may be popular, but ultimately, american people, they want congress and the white house to work together and take action and not just let these automatic cuts go into place or continue to have these showdowns, a series -- a mountain range of fiscal cliffs. people are going to want to see everyone on the hill cooperate and work together. they associate that with democrats. >> let's sneak a break in and get the trivia out of the way. we asked who was the longest serving chairman of the house judiciary committee? i know jackie was really fired up about this question.

new york democrat emanuel cellar. he was instrumental in eliminating the quota system in immigration law. you see why we asked the question now. if you have a political trivia question for us, e-mail us. we'll be right back. all stations come over to mission a for a final go. this is for real this time. step seven point two one two. verify and lock. command is locked. five seconds. three, two, one. standing by for capture. the most innovative software on the planet... dragon is captured. is connecting today's leading companies to places beyond it. siemens. answers.

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let's bring back the gaggle. jackie, that deafening silence you heard yesterday was the silence of congress apparently not caring that the second branch of government had no oversight over the executive branch's definition of how and when to go after an american al qaeda operative. are you surprised at the silence

in congress outside of a ron white? >> yeah, it was surprising that there wasn't a lot about this yesterday. i think we'll hear more tomorrow as john brennan goes through his confirmation hearing. but yeah, it is surprising. this sun pris unprecedented tha can't hear more. >> margie, is this a case where -- in "a few good men," the great monologue from jack nicholson where he starts yelling at tom cruise. you know, you want me on that wall in places you don't want to talk about. is this where the american public is? they just don't want to hear about it? they know the stuff goes on, but they don't want it brought up to them and that's why they're okay with this? >> well, i think it's an important conversation to have, but the last poll i saw, it was from a year ago, but a "washington post" poll showed 83% of americans supported the use, 77% among liberal democrats. obama has been strong on foreign

policy for a while. so i'm not surprised that this is where the public is. >> alfonzo, do you think more republicans are going to speak up about this? >> i think so. i think the double standard is incredible. remember the brouhaha over the bush administration's enhanced interrogation techniques. holder attacked the bush administration over torture. >> and then silence now. >> and nobody's saying anything now? it's ridiculous. >> they're playing our song. shameless plugs. alfonzo, you get to go first. >> today is the 102nd anniversary of ronald reagan's birthday. so we send our very best to mrs. reagan, and we remember people, that ronald reagan understood his tann hispanics and supported pro-immigration policy. >> "usa today" had a great story yesterday, it is on congressional gun ownership. read it. it's great. did a lot of work on it. >> an important story on the ncaa's messing up of miami as

well. margie? >> america had a great event last night. abortion is not the only women's issue that's going to be important this cycle. family medical leave. stronger gun laws. and violence against women act. >> thank you, all. that's it for this edition of "the daily rundown." chris jansing is up next. bye-bye. i'm bill karins with your business travel forecast. a lot of fog early today down along the gulf. we have a lot of warm air and moisture surging up through texas and louisiana. there will be fog and thunderstorms in san antonio. eventually this is the moisture that will move tomorrow and the potential for a nor east we are snow in new england on friday.

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